


All It Takes Is One Post

by firecracker189



Series: Baby Mine [5]
Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: AU Littles are Known, Gen, Littles Are Known, Non-Sexual Age Play, big!rhett, caregiver!rhett, little!link, nsap, toddler!Link
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-01
Updated: 2019-05-01
Packaged: 2020-02-15 15:05:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18672103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firecracker189/pseuds/firecracker189
Summary: One post, and Link felt his world crashing down around his ears.





	1. Chapter 1

It all started with one simple post on social media. 

One post, and Link felt his world crashing down around his ears. 

He dropped the phone and hyperventilated till he was crying. 

Rhett found him a few minutes later and resorted to measures typically only used when Link was feeling little. He sat down in the floor, pulled Link into his lap and started humming a lullaby, rubbing gentle circles against Link’s stomach. He kept his work up until Link was relaxed enough to take deep breaths without seeming like he might throw up. 

“What’s all this about, bo?” Rhett kept his voice soft, but Link could tell he really wanted to go into Caregiver Mode and just make Link feel better. 

Link picked up his phone and unlocked it, shoving the picture up and over his shoulder at Rhett. 

“Oh. I see.” Rhett stared at the screen. The two of them at a recent meet and greet, a blurred action photo of Link grabbing onto Rhett’s shirt when he thought nobody was looking. The caption read: ‘is link a little, bc i’m getting some serious vibes here’. Rhett sighed and put Link’s phone down on the carpet. Of course this had to happen right before they left for work. “Do you want me to call someone? I can go in if you feel like you can’t work today. You can just take it easy here for a few hours.”

Link, predictably, made a soft sound of terror and clung on tighter. 

“Hey, you’re alright,” Rhett hurried to assure, rubbing Link’s back. “It’s okay. But you gotta make a decision. Stay here with Christy and make today an extra headspace day, or come to work with me.” 

“Can’t be little. Don’t want anybody to know!” Link was adamant, if terrified. This picture had really shaken him. 

“Come on. Stay here or come with me. Pick.” 

“Christy’s not  _ you _ !” Oh boy. Now they were on the verge of tantrum mode. Rhett had to tread carefully if he didn’t want Link to have a full on break down. 

“I know, but if we talk to her now she can stay home with you. If we wait any longer you’ll have to come with me to work.” 

“Please,” Link begged, holding on as tight as possible and making Rhett wheeze softly. 

“Ease up, you’re hurtin’ a little,” Rhett coaxed. Link eventually let go altogether, leaning back to just stare at Rhett with panicked eyes. “Hey. This is alright. We can fix this. You were just saying the other day that you might be ready to reveal this to the Mythical Beasts,” 

“Yeah, but...that was last week. Before all this. Maybe I’m not really ready.” 

“I think you’ll be fine.” Rhett said resolutely, reaching over to drag Link into his lap. “Besides, you got me. We started this together, we’ll keep going together.” Link leaned into him and started playing with the buttons on Rhett’s shirt. “Now. Do you want help putting on your shoes?” 

“Please.” 

* * *

 

He’d known ever since the initial anxiety attack that he wouldn’t be going into work alone, no matter how much LInk would benefit from staying at home with Christy for the rest of the day. It had been a fight from the minute they had gotten downstairs-- first about taking Link’s littlespace bag with them, then about putting the car seat into the back of the car. He’d threatened no snack time and multiple time-outs by the time Link had relented and let himself be strapped into the safety seat. He’d whined and cried and kicked the back of Rhett’s chair the entire way to the studio. Rhett was exhausted before the day had really begun by the time they pulled into the parking lot.

“Buddy, please.” he turned around to peer into Link’s fearful face. “I know you’re scared, but we gotta go inside. You gotta promise to behave for me, okay? I realize that it’s scary, but we have to go in.” He unbuckled his seatbelt and moved around to Link’s side of the car. “You ready to get out?” 

Link hid his face in his blanket and whined softly. “People gonna know.” 

“That’s right, they are. But nobody’s gonna be mad at you, I promise. Won’t it feel better knowing that you can have some special time at work now, too?” Rhett worked on the several clips keeping the harness buckled. 

Link didn’t answer. 

“Come on, Bumblebee. Let Bubba carry you.” That, Link could do. He moved easily into Rhett’s arms and Rhett propped him on one hip, picking up his bag and throwing the strap over his shoulder. Once the car was locked up, he started making his way cautiously inside. There were a few blank looks, some knowing, and some outright supportive and excited as he wound his way through the hallways towards their office. Rhett unlocked their door and flipped on the lights. “Okay, buddy. You wanna get down for a little bit? We gotta go talk to the crew at some point and tell them what’s going on.” 

Link whined again. 

“Link. You gotta use your words. I love you, but I don’t know what’s going on in that head of yours if you don’t use your words.” 

“Hard.” 

“I know it’s hard,” Rhett put Link’s back down and eased himself onto the sofa, cradling Link against him. “But you gotta let me know how you’re feeling, so I can know what I need to do right now to help you.” 

Link gripped at Rhett’s shirt and finally took his face out of his blanket. “Gotta tell,” he managed finally. “Don’t wanna secret anymore.” 

“That’s good,” Rhett encouraged. “Anything else in that smart brain of yours, Bumblebee?” 

Link nibbled at his lip. “Gotta potty.” 

“Okay,” Rhett kissed his forehead. “We can go take care of that and then we’ll change your clothes into something more comfy than those jeans, hmm?” 

“Kay,” Link agreed, letting Rhett set him on his feet and grab his hand. “An, an’ then Link has binky, p’ease?” 

“You’re so polite, look at you!” Rhett took the bag with them, smiling at Link as they made their way down to the bathroom. 

Link beamed. “Link is doing good?” he asked tentatively, as Rhett locked the door. 

“Link is doing  _ very  _ good, I’m very proud of him.” Rhett promised as he eased Link’s tee shirt off over his head. 

Rhett took his time, eased Link into a familiar routine of ‘change clothes and go potty’, got him all bundled up in a pair of soft pajamas that would put his little one more at ease than trying to wear grownup clothes.

“You’re doing so good, Link, I’m so proud of you,” Rhett murmured once he’d gotten Link all changed and ready to go back outside. “You’re such a good boy.” he zipped up the duffle bag and put the strap back over his shoulder. 

Link hovered beside him uncertainly. “Bubba?” 

“What, bo?” Rhett reached out and smoothed an errant lock of Link’s hair, making him look presentable. 

“Link...Link has binky? No talks, p’ease.” 

“No, you don’t have to talk.” Rhett pulled a binky from the side pouch and handed it to Link. “You don’t have to do anything but lemme hold you.” he assured. “I don’t think I can go anywhere without you today. Can you stay with me so I don’t get nervous?” 

Link’s face lit up, smiling around the pacifier. “Link goes!” he made insistent grabby hands, proud that he could help Bubba feel better. 

“Good.” Rhett smiled and picked him up again. “I need that today.” He didn’t really, but it was nice to help deflect a little of Link’s anxiety by giving him a ‘job’ to do. 

Once he’d carried Link back outside, Rhett dropped his bag off in their office and made sure to hand Link his blanket. “Okay, silly boy. I’m gonna take you out and talk to the crew now, okay?”

He felt Link stiffen against him and patted his back idly as he started walking towards the door. “Don’t worry, bo. It’s okay.” Rhett cleared his throat and smiled as Stevie approached with a clipboard. 

“Hey.” She smiled softly. “Need you to sign these papers for me.” 

“Sure thing,” Rhett kept his voice even and used his free hand to sign wherever she indicated. He handed the pen back and took a glance around the common space. “Listen, can you-?” he gestured at Link and then at everyone else. 

“Absolutely.” Stevie’s face took on a resolute look and she nodded. “I’ll talk to them for you. Just send me an email with the details and I can assemble everyone. That way it won’t stress him out too much.” 

Rhett was sure his face reflected the bone-deep relief he felt. “Thank you. No, really, thank you. Let me do something for you sometime, something to show how grateful I am.” 

“Maybe that little guy can color me a picture or something.” Stevie pointed at Link with a smile. “Seriously, I’ve known for a while now. It’s no big deal. I’m glad you’re doing this though, it ought to help make things easier schedule wise.” 

Rhett blinked. Had they really been that transparent? Maybe the person who posted that picture was onto something. “Sure. He loves to color, don’t you, Link?” 

Link just pressed his face further into Rhett’s neck. 

“Eh, he’ll come around eventually. I’m gonna take him back into the office. Thanks, Stevie.” 

“No problem.” She gave a little mock salute and headed back around the corner with her stack of papers. 

By the time lunch rolled around, Rhett had drafted a few possible emails and sent them off to Stevie for approval. All the stress of the morning had Link ready for an early nap, so he’d been sleeping for an hour or so on the sofa by the time Rhett came back into the room with two sandwiches, a water bottle, and Link’s favorite cup filled with juice.

“Wake up, I brought lunch, sleepy head.” he gently jostled Link’s arm till he blinked up at him with tired eyes. “Come on. I got sandwiches. You can come sit in my lap if you want to.” Of course Link wanted to. The extra nerves had him clingier than normal which was quite the feat. Rhett alternated between feeding himself and feeding Link until both sandwiches were gone. “Feel better?” he asked, wiping a few stray crumbs out of his mustache. Link nodded quietly. 

“Stevie?” 

“Yeah, bud. She’s gonna tell everybody for us. You and me can just stay right here. Somebody else is gonna do the filming today so we can focus on us today. We gotta put out a post on the internet, too. Think you can be big long enough to help me write it?” 

Link didn’t look too sure. 

“That’s okay if you can’t, I know this is stressful for you. If you can even be half little for me that would work.” 

“Help.”

“Good boy, thank you very much, you’re such a good helper.” 

* * *

**Mythical Beasts,**

**For this entire journey with you all, we’ve tried to be as transparent as possible.**

**Unfortunately, we are human. Humans tend to keep secrets. It’s with a heavy heart that we finally admit to you that we’ve been keeping a pretty big one from you all. We’ve struggled with whether or not to reveal this for years now, but the timing never seemed right and things never seemed safe. Well, in light of the spirit of transparency (and a few other decisions on our personal part) we’ve decided to come clean. Here goes:**

**For a number of years now, (since college to be precise) the two of us have, by nature of classification and our personal relationship, been involved in a relationship as Little and Caregiver. This does not change anything regarding our jobs, or the content we produce except to alter schedules here and there to give Link the time he needs to unwind. Over the coming weeks more firm decisions regarding these schedules will be made, but we hope to continue to produce content for you guys. We’re grateful for the love and support over the years, but we’re sad we couldn’t have revealed this information to you sooner.**

**We didn’t feel that there had been an opportune time to safely reveal this information to the general public in a way that would preserve physical safety and keep things stable mentally speaking. Classifications are a delicate thing, and we struggled with balancing that relationship for nearly a decade before things evened out enough for us to have a routine. But we have a routine now, and we’re finally ready to face this together, come what may. We hope this won’t change your opinion of us moving forward, and that you’ll understand our reasons for not revealing this information before now.**

**In light of the stress that revealing this information publicly does bring, we will be taking a break from being on camera for a few days. Look for the crew to fill in for us, and we’ll be back soon! We hope to do a Q &A session in the coming weeks for an episode, so we can adjust to what having this in the public eye might mean for us and how to handle that. Until we’re both back to work, we hope that you’ll respect our privacy by not sending us messages on social media. This is a lot to process for the pair of us, but we hope that by going public with our classifications we can become stronger and better people. We hope that it truly does help to make us our mythical best. **

**All the best,**

**Rhett and Link**

 

* * *

After Stevie sent the final version of the email to the crew and staff, Rhett sent their letter to the fans out to their various joint social media accounts. He retweeted it from his personal account and sighed softly. “Whatcha think, buddy?” Link had finally given up and let himself be put down, nestling up against Rhett’s legs as he sat in his office chair. “We gonna be okay?” 

Link nodded, a blank look to his eyes as he rubbed the fabric of his blanket against his cheek. 

“Good.” Rhett smiled tiredly. It had been a trying day for them both, and he was exhausted too. “Now come up here and gimme a hug. I need one of your magic hugs.” 


	2. Chapter 2

Link sighed and plopped down into his chair. “Why, though?” he asked for the billionth time as Rhett sat down beside him so they could do a sound check. 

“Because,” Rhett explained yet again. “People really want to support us in this, and everyone seems really glad and excited that we’ve started being more public about this. Besides, you have quite the group of supportive caregivers on Instagram and Facebook, Little Man.” 

Link huffed and crossed his arms. “Don’t call me that. I’m not even in headspace.” 

“Well, I have my doubts about how long that lasts. But you’re right. You’re a grownup. I should treat you like one. Why don’t you pick the first question?” 

“Fine,” Link scrolled through his phone and settled in more comfortably while Rhett did the intro. 

“Okay, so today...a lot of you have sent in questions for the two of us to answer. I realize that we might have breached trust with a lot of you by keeping this a secret, but we thought at the time that it was better for Link to not be so public about things. As an apology, we put out the open invitation to ask anything within reason you guys might want to know about Link’s headspace,” Rhett peered over at Link. “Link’s looking for a good first question to answer. I’m gonna answer a few of those questions as well, and Stevie has picked some to ask later too. So. Let’s dive in. Link?” 

Link looked up, a nervous tension to his lips. “Uh, this one comes from from our good friend Markiplier. Mark wants to know…” Link reread the question once more for clarity. “Mark wants to know whether you have any nicknames that you like to call me. He says he has a lot for his own little and that he thinks having a special nickname helps strengthen the bond.” 

“I’ll have to ask him who that is,” Rhett mused to himself before sitting up straighter. “Thanks for the question, Mark. I do, actually. I have a couple of nicknames for Link. Some are only for headspace, some aren’t for headspace and are things I just like to call him. But as far as what you’re asking, I mostly call Link ‘Bumblebee’ when he’s in headspace because he’s just so darn cute like a little bumblebee.” Rhett’s smirk only grew wider as Link blushed and squirmed on the spot. 

“Um, okay, Rhett. Why-why don’t you find another question?” Link stuttered. 

“Oh, here’s one,” Rhett laughed to himself as he scrolled down his phone. “From Jeremy: Hey, Rhett! I realize littles are lighter than caregivers, but how do you make it look so easy to carry Link around? He’s so lanky.” Rhett put his phone down on the desk. “Interesting question Jeremy. Actually, I’ve been Link’s caregiver since just after college. I’ve been carrying him around for so long that it’s just second nature to me now. Little dudes don’t weigh nothin’,” Rhett pushed to his feet and stepped over to Link, sticking his hands under Link’s armpits and hoisting him up, ignoring Link’s protests. “See? Ain’t nothin’,” Rhett grinned, pleased with as Link instantly wrapped his legs around his waist, head dropping to Rhett’s shoulder. He comfortably put one arm under Link’s butt and one arm loosely around his shoulders.

“Put me down, please,” Link’s voice was soft. “I want to be able to answer more questions.” 

Rhett obliged and set Link down on his feet. “Well Jeremy, there’s your answer.” Rhett laughed as Link settled back into his chair. “But for all his size, Link really doesn’t weigh too much.”

“Here’s another good one,” Stevie murmured. “This question comes from Jenny, @butterflycarer on Twitter. She says: Link, do you have a favorite comfort item? My little one has a stuffed lamb she can’t do without!”

“Great question Jenny,” Rhett started off, cautious as he looked over at Link. “Thank you very much for sending one in. Link? You wanna take this one? It’s for you.”

Link picked at his shirt a little before looking up and smiling tiredly. “Yeah, um. Thank you. Thank you very much for sending this in, Jenny. Uh...I don’t really have too many things I absolutely have to keep around when I’m little, I guess. Mostly just a pacifier and my blanket.” 

“Sometimes he keeps a stuffed animal or two in the bed, but mostly he just cuddles his blanket. But he’s right. I’d have to say he can’t do without one of his binkies. I keep extra ones in every single bag and in the car just in case.” Rhett looked over at Link and lowered his voice. “How’re you doing? You good to keep going?” 

Link nodded. “Yeah. I think so. Let’s do a few more.” 

“Stevie, you got anything you want to ask us?” Rhett turned back forward and looked over at her. 

Stevie eyed Link with a little smile. “@Bluebear98 says: You’ve posted a lot recently on Instagram about reasons why Link is crying, but does he ever just throw a nasty tantrum?”

Link cleared his throat nervously and the blush crept farther up his neck. Rhett sighed softly and leaned his forearms on the desk. 

“I mean, every little is gonna have their bad days. It’s just a fact. Overstimulation, exhaustion, sickness,” Rhett listed them off on his fingers. “There’s a ton of factors that feed into all this. On top of that, they don’t regulate their emotion with quite the nuance that someone like me or Stevie would be able to.” he cut his eyes over to Link, watching as he fiddled with the hem of his shirt. “Link’s no different. He has good days and bad days. You guys have seen the Instagrams, I don’t have to provide evidence for that. But being on the younger end of the spectrum--Link’s typically about three-- he has his fair share of mega tantrums too.” Link stopped fiddling with his shirt and seemed to get a little smaller in his chair. Rhett licked his lips and gestured a little. “Someone asked me last week why most of the pictures I’ve shared since the news came out have Link without his glasses on. It’s not because he wears contacts when we’re at home. It’s because whenever he does throw a fit, he’s probably going to throw his glasses. After the third pair of glasses broke, I just started putting them somewhere he won’t find them when he’s little.” 

“I’m still sorry about that, by the way,” Link mumbled to the desk. 

“Don’t apologize, that’s on me. I shoulda done that from the beginning after the first time you did it. C’mere.” he tugged on Link’s sleeve. “Come here. Lemme hug you. I know this is hard for you to talk about and that there’s a lot of questions happening today, but i’m so proud of you for agreeing to do this,” Rhett told him with a gentle smile. Link scooted over and let Rhett hug him, gripping at Rhett’s shirt. “Seriously. I’m proud of you, buddy.” Rhett said again, holding onto Link for a moment before pulling away. 

“Thanks.” Link mumbled, looking subdued. “We should answer another few questions now.” 

“Oh, here’s one you might like, Link.” Rhett’s voice held a tone of mischief that Link wasn’t comfortable with. “This one’s from Facebook. Jordan Sanders wants to know whether you have a set schedule for your potty habits or not. She’s having trouble with her little one and wants to know whether I can give any advice.” 

Link’s face went the deepest shade of red it had been for the entire segment. “Um.” he swallowed a little. “Can...can we not answer that one?”

“What’s the matter? You don’t want everybody knowing about that? Why’re you scared? That’s just another part of life, Link. You shouldn’t be ashamed of it.” 

“I-I’m not...I’m not ashamed.” Link’s voice took on a defensive tone. 

“Okay, then let me answer the question.” 

Link heaved a tired sigh. “Fine. But it’s embarrassing. That’s different from being shameful.” he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. 

Rhett put his phone down on the desk and took a deep breath. 

"Okay. First of all this can be a very delicate subject depending on who your little is, as you just saw with Link, here.”

Link stuck his tongue out and continued to stare up at the ceiling and sulk. 

Rhett rolled his eyes. “It’s delicate and dicey and nobody likes having to reconcile being an independent grownup human being with having to do something so degrading as monitor their bathroom habits. But it is a problem. I’d suggest a sticker chart, or some kind of reward system. Link’s got a sticker chart at home, and I’m thinking of bringing one to the office too. It seems to work pretty well for him but it doesn’t always keep him on track. Sometimes I set reminders on his phone if he’s feeling bigger but having problems, just to get him up every hour or so and to at least get him thinking about whether or not he feels like he might need to go.”

Link’s face was cherry red, and he looked like he wanted to disappear into the floor. 

“That’s...that’s a lot of uh, information there, Rhett.”

“She asked me a question and I have to answer it honestly,” Rhett explained. “If you’re uncomfortable, don’t be.” he stared at Link for a moment and then scooted his chair back a little. “You wanna sit in my lap? Would that help if you couldn’t see the cameras or the crew? Is that what’s got you so worked up?” 

Link didn’t say anything, simply moving quickly to sit in Rhett’s lap and hide his face in his neck. 

“There we go. You’re alright.” He murmured, rubbing Link’s back before continuing his answer. “Anyway, it works different for each kiddo. Some kids have problems at night and none during the day, and vice versa. Some kiddos can’t really ever have a spotless track record and constantly need to wear protection,” Link squirmed against him and Rhett ran a hand through his hair. It was a sore spot whether Link was big or little that he couldn’t ever make it out of constant pull-up wearing. “But timers and schedules do work pretty well. Without knowing the specifics of your situation I can’t help too much, but I hope this has at least helped some.” 

“I think that’s enough questions for now,” Stevie decided. “Link’s pretty much done, I think.”

“Yeah, I’m going to take this guy down to the office to take a nap. Then I’ll be back to start More.”

“Noooo,” Link whined into Rhett’s shoulder. 

“No, what? No, you aren’t little right now?” 

“No.” Link insisted stubbornly. 

“Well...big or little it’d make me feel a lot better if you laid down for a little while. I know you didn’t get too much sleep last night, and you can’t be feeling very good because of that.” 

Link nodded. “Don’t feel very good,” he admitted softly. 

“Then you should let me take care of you, shouldn’t you?” 

Another nod. 

“So you’ll let me take you and get you ready to take a nap?” 

“Nap.” he agreed. 

* * *

“Okay, sleepy boy,” Rhett kissed Link’s forehead and tucked the blanket up around his shoulders. “You have a good nap and Bubba will come get you later.” Rhett turned on the baby monitor and clipped the receiver to his belt, kneeling down by the sofa to stroke Link’s hair.

“Bubba,” Link was struggling to keep his eyes open. 

“What is it, Bumblebee?” Rhett murmured quietly. 

“Bubba, binky.” 

“Oh, silly me, you’re exactly right, Link. Lemme go get that for you.” Rhett moved to his desk and grabbed the binky from Link’s bag. “Here, buddy. Now you go on to sleep, and I’ll come back when you wake up.” 

Link fell asleep near instantly as soon as the pacifier passed his lips, cuddling with his blankie. 

Once he’d gone to the bathroom and made double sure to turn on the baby monitor, Rhett returned to set to start the new segment. “Okay, I’m back.” he set the baby monitor on the desk after taking it off his belt. 

Rhett actually managed to make it most of the way through the taping of More without any interruptions. The baby monitor lit up right before the last determining round of the game he, Jordan and Chase were involved in. He let out a little sigh and rubbed at his eyes. “Just a minute.” Rhett disappeared and a moment later his voice filtered through the monitor over the sound of Link’s crying.

“Hey, lil’ man, what’s got you so worked up, huh?” Rhett’s voice, while muffled from the monitor, was soft and gentle. “Why’re you so sad?”

Link wailed softly. “Bubba!” 

“I’m right here, you’re okay. You’re alright. You just calm down and tell Bubba what’s wrong, huh? No? You don’t wanna talk? Aw, bumblebee, that’s okay.” 

The entire atmosphere was filled with giggles and murmurs from the crew, everyone audibly talking about how cute it was, how adorable Rhett was with Link.

“How ‘bout you just come out here with me, hmm? Yeah? You just wanna come back out there with Bubba? Alright. Come on.”

A minute later he reappeared, carrying a visibly still upset Link, who was clinging to his blankie for dear life and holding his binky in the other hand. “Alright. We’re back. Link’s a little spooked, but everything’s fine. We’re just gonna sit right back down and finish up this segment.” Rhett sat back down in his chair and rubbed Link’s back, kissing his hot cheek. “Calm down, bumblebee,” he murmured. “I’m right here. You wanna put your binky in?” Link nodded pitifully and Rhett reached up and plucked it from his hand, putting it into Link’s mouth. “Sorry about that. So. Where were we?”

 


End file.
